Hand puppet constructions and method for their production

ABSTRACT

A HAND PUPPET CONSTRUCTION COMPRISING OPPOSED PLASTIC SHEETS WHICH ARE HEAT SEALED TOGETHER AT THEIR ADJOINING EDGES. PRINTING S FORMED ON AT LEAST ONE OF THE SHEETS WITH THE PRINTING MATERIAL BEING LOCATED ON AN INTERIOR FACING SURFACE. TO INSURE COMPLETE STERILIZATION SO THAT THE CONSTRUCTION CAN BE DIRECTLY ASSOCIATED WITH FOOD PRODUCTS, THE CONSTRUCTIONS ARE PACKED IN CONTAINERS AND THEN EXPOSED TO A GASEOUS STERILIZING ATMOSPHERE TO INSURE THE DESTRUCTION OF CONTAMINANTS.

B. F. BRIESKE Feb., 23, i971 HAND PUPPET CONSTRUCTIONS AND METHOD FORTHEIR PRODUCTION Filed July 26, i968 United States Patent 3,564,807 HANDPUPPET CONSTRUCTIONS AND METHOD FOR THEIR PRODUCTION Bernard F. Brieske,Palatine, Ill., assignor to Vision Wrap Industries, Inc., Schiller Park,Ill., an Illinois corporation Filed July 26, 1968, Ser. No. 747,911 Int.Cl. B65b 25/00, 31/00, 55/18 U.S. Cl. 53-23 3 Claims ABSTRACT OF THEDISCLOSURE This invention relates to hand puppet constructions and tomethods for producing the constructions.

Hand puppets have been manufactured for many years for use as toys, andin recent years, such puppets have been formed of heat sealablematerials. When such materials, for example polyethylene, are used formanufacturing puppets, then large numbers of the puppets can bemanufactured at a very low cost.

In view of the fact that very large numbers of plastic hand puppets canbe manufactured at low cost, the puppets are very suitable for use aspremiums. Thus, manufacturers can well-afford to purchase large numbersof the puppets, and associate them with their products to add to theirsales appeal.

The hand puppets are especially appealing when various figures, forexample cartoon characters, are printed directly on the plasticmaterial. This makes the puppets especially appealing to children andprovides a further incentive for manufacturers to purchase the puppetsfor use in association with their products.

A significant difficulty has arisen when attempts have been made tomarket the puppets for use in association with food products. In view ofgovernment regulations, prior puppet constructions could not be directlyassociated with a food product (for example, inserted inside a cerealpackage) in view of the danger of contamination. Contamination can occurbecause of handling, however, this can be controlled to a large degree.A more significant problem exists because printing materials employedfor providing designs are considered to be potentially dangerous andpuppets having such printing materials could not be brought into directcontact with food.

It is a general object of this invention to provide an improved handpuppet construction formed of plastic material.

It is a more specific object of this invention to provide a hand puppetconstruction which can be economically manufactured in large volume,which can be printed to provide caricatures or other material on theconstructions, and which are designed and processed so thatcontamination due to handling or because of the presence of printingmaterial can be avoided.

These and other objects of this invention will appear hereinafter andfor purposes of illustration but not of limitation, specific embodimentsof the invention are shown in the accompanying drawing in which:

FIG. 1 is a front elevational view of a puppet constructioncharacterized by the features of this invention;

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FIG. 2 is a rear elevational view of the puppet construction;

FIG. 3 is an elevational View of the construction shown in associationwith a hand; and

FIG. 4 is a schematic illustration of a system employed for sterilizingpuppet constructions.

The construction of this invention generally comprises opposed plasticsheets which are heat sealed together at their adjoining edges with acaricature or other material printed on at least one of the sheets. Allof the printing ink is located on an interior facing surface of thesheet; however, transparent plastic is employed so that the printing isvisible from the exterior of the construction. The material is printedin reverse fashion on the interior surface of the sheet so that a rightreading image will be visible when the puppet is in use.

In the production of the puppet constructions, a pair of plastic sheetsare printed in the desired fashion, and the sheets are then broughttogether so that all of the printing material is located on interiorfacing surfaces. The sheets are then die cut to conform to a hand puppetconfiguration, and the sheets are heat sealed at their adjoining edges.

In order to insure. that the puppets will be uncontaminated,sterilization is preferably carried out. A preferred arrangementinvolves the packing of the constructions in shipping containers, andthe exposure of the containers to a gaseous sterilizing atmosphere. Thesterilizing gas will penetrate the containers for contact with thesurfaces of the puppet constructions. This represents a preferredsterilizing arrangement since the constructions can then be delivered tothe user without reopening the containers whereby further handling bythe manufacturer can be completely avoided, The user of the puppets, forexample a food manufacturer, can then employ standard equipment forremoving the constructions and for inserting the constructions in foodcontainers Without the need for further handling.

The puppet constructions shown in the drawings display a caricature 10which is visible through the front of the construction. The constructionis formed of a pair of sheets 12 and 14 which are heat sealed at theiradjoining edges.

In the manufacture of the constructions, the caricature 10 and theWiring shown at 16 are printed on the interior face of the sheet 12. Ifdesired, multiple colored printing may be employed. In addition, abackground 18 may be printed over the caricature 10 so that thecaricature will not be distinctly visible when viewed from the interiorface. Since the plastic material forming the construction istransparent; however, the caricature will be clearly visible when viewedfrom the exterior face, and the background 18 will substantially avoidthe appearance of the individual hand. A similar non-transparentbackground 20 may be applied on the interior surface of the sheet 14 sothat the back of the users hand will not be visible.

It will be noted that the printing on the inner face of the sheet 12 isreversed so that a right reading image is presented when the puppet isin use. The printing mechanisms can be readily adapted for providingreverse printing in the manner shown.

FIG. 3 shows the construction in use. The hand of the user is insertedthrough an opening 22 which is provided by cutting off the strip 24along the bottom edge of the construction. A line 26 may be printed onthe interior face of one of the sheets 12 or 14 to provide a guide forcutting. With this arrangement, the sheets 12 and 14 are sealed at alladjoining edges so that the construction is completely closed prior touse.

By providing printing on the interior surfaces in the manner described,contamination problems can be completely eliminated insofar as printingmaterials are concerned.

To avoid contamination which might result because of handling, theconstructions are preferably packed in shipping containers 28 and thenlocated in a chamber 30 as shown in FIG. 4. The chamber 30 is connectedto a tank 32 `which contains a sterilizing gas such as ethylene oxide orpropylene oxide. This gas is introduced into the chamber through line34, and thus brought into Contact with the containers 28. The gas willpenetrate the containers and come into direct contact with theconstructions included therein.

An outlet pipe 36 is provided particularly if the gases v are to becirculated during the sterilizing operation. An exhaust line 38 isprovided for purposes of evacuating the chamber 30 prior to asterilizing operation. Reference is made to Pat. No. 2,938,766 for amore detailed explanation of the manner in which a sterilizing processof the type described can be carried out.

In a typical manufacturing operation, continuous sheets of plasticmaterial, for example polyethylene, will be passed through printingapparatus to provide the desired caricatures and background. The sheetsare then brought together with all of the printing systems being locatedon the mating interior surfaces of the sheets. A die cutting tool, whichis preferably a heated blade, is then brought into contact with themated sheets to provide the hand puppet configuration. A heated diecutting tool is employed so that heat sealing at all adjoining edges ofthe sheets will be carried out simultaneously with the die cuttingoperation.

The printing, die cutting, and heat sealing operations can be carriedout on a continuous basis whereby the constructions can be economicallymanufactured in large numbers. Thus, the reverse printing operation doesnot create insurmountable problems insofar as economical production isconcerned. Similarly, the sterilization procedure described will handlelarge volumes of the constructions and, therefore, the constructions canbe offered for use in conjunction with food products at a reasonablecost.

It will be understood that various changes and modiiications may be madein the above described system which provide the characteristics of thisinvention without departing from the spirit thereof particularly asdefined in the following claims.

That which is claimed is:

1. A method for the production of a hand puppet construction comprisingthe steps of providing a pair of plastic sheets, printing a ligure on atleast one sheet, die cutting said sheets to conform to a hand puppetconfiguration, locating said sheets in opposed relationship with theprinting substance having an interior facing relationship in theassembly of opposed sheets, heat sealing the opposed sheets at theiradjoining edges, sterilizing the completed puppet construction toeliminate contamination on the exterior faces of the puppetconstructions, the sterilizing comprising the steps of packing aplurality of puppet construction in a container, and exposing saidcontainer to a gaseous sterilizing atmosphere, said atmospherepenetrating the container for contact with the puppet constructions tothereby achieve sterilization.

2. A method in accordance with claim 1 wherein said die cutting isaccomplished by means of a heated die with said sheets being located insaid opposed relationship during the die cutting whereby heat sealing ofthe sheets occurs simultaneously with the die cutting.

3. A method in accordance with claim 1 wherein said printing stepincludes printing a cutting line on said interior facing surface of saidone sheet adjacent the bottom edge of the construction whereby saidconstruction is adapted to be cut along its bottom edge to provide anopening for insertion of the hand.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,999,314 4/1935 Anderson 93--12,506,769 5/1950 Bergstein 53--21 2,572,669 10/1951 Sarge 93-352,773,285 12/1956 Piazze 53-21 2,917,878 12/1959 Carnarius 52-213,381,402 5/1968 Ohfuji 93-61 3,383,831 5/1968 Goldsmith 53-1673,395,622 8/1968 Kugler 93-33 3,413,396 11/1968 Stearns 93-34X 3,426,5052/1969 Cloud 93-58 3,465,354 9/1969 Timms 93-61 3,475,852 11/1969 Brosk93-35 2,938,766 5/1960 Hall 21-58 3,189,702 6/1965 Wall 53-21 3,420,3611/1969 Newberg 93-35 Y WAYNE A. MORSE, IR., Primary Examiner U.S. Cl.X.R.

